Consortio, the revolutionary consortium marketplace offering composers’ not-yet-written ideas to directors and ensembles of all sizes and scopes, will focus on an upcoming project every week throughout the summer. This week’s spotlight is on Michael Bussewitz-Quarm’s “The Radium Girl,” which will be for SSAA chorus.
Michael’s work delves into difficult subjects and forgotten peoples with meaningful contributions to society, and The Radium Girl will be no exception. Radium Girls were young women who worked with radium to paint glow-in-the-dark numbers on clocks. They’d lick their brushes to keep the bristles smooth, but the exposure to the toxic radium created long-lasting physical ailments which were hidden to cover up liability.
Michael and Chantal Sellers, the lyricist, say that their intent “is to give light to these women and their tragic stories through the power of song. This story is still relevant today. It’s not just women who are working under hellish conditions: children and men are, too. But women are always part of the equation when workers are exploited, and they often have fewer protections than children or men. This song shines a light on women’s rights and women’s voices, in particular, the radium girls’ voices.” Check out their video about the project here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-r8xbrjy-U
Help this important message become a reality by joining today. The deadline to join is July 15th with a score delivery of July 31st in time for the start of fall programming.
Consortio is making commissioning easier, more accessible, and more impactful for all involved. Most of the consortium projects on Consortio cost only a fraction more than the purchase of a set of octavos, so a new music experience is available to nearly everyone. Please visit consortio.io for more information on our composers, their projects, and the ensembles that make them a reality.
https://consortio.io/mbqstudio/the-radium-girl
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